Is there a page on differences between versions anywhere? Wiki? Something like that?

There's no side-by-side comparison but most major differences are mentioned in the readme file of the m-version. A short ad hoc list for the m-version:- no ESR (yet) and Vloss (caps)- just two languages included- no support for software UART (serial output)- no support for alternative LCD module pins (stripboard version)- just ATmega168 and 328- UI with selectable hold mode (wait for key press) and menu- PWM tool (select from several predefined frequencies and change the PWM ratio in 5% steps)- several measurements differ in some details- completely different logic for diode detection - low resistance measurement (kind of :-)- Zener tool (4-30/40V) is selected via menu- IGBT detection (if 5V are sufficient)- readable source code with tons of comments

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Should I make one? (not something I'd enjoy doing but it's info I would like to know anyway)

The best one is the one you build yourself :-) Actually you could choose any clone but make sure that it has got an ATmega328. The 168 doesn't got enough flash to support all features. And the clones without ISP pin header or pads could be less convenient to update.

Here you are: This is what to look for and what to avoid, regarding a clone, and this is a deductive visual inspection round-up of five clones suggested by another fellow EEVBlogger; and this is what, for example, you can build.

-George

Logged

Hi! This is George; and I am three and a half years old!(This was one of my latest realisations, now in my early fifties!...)

I picked up a few of these.Hopefully I can also get those free solder splashes on the LCD thrown in (just kidding).

I have a few questions to you guys who have been through this already:1. Was there a consensus on the ISP header such as the one Darrylp mounted?2. Since this may have a ATmega168. Is it possible to retrofit an ATmega328P, ATmega328 or socket in the same package?3. How can I tell them apart? Are they essentially the same beast or need further mods?4. Wheres a good resource for info on AVR ISP programming?5. Anyone got a good place to purchase headers, chips and programming related parts from?

I have a few questions to you guys who have been through this already:1. Was there a consensus on the ISP header such as the one Darrylp mounted?2. Since this may have a ATmega168. Is it possible to retrofit an ATmega328P, ATmega328 or socket in the same package?3. How can I tell them apart? Are they essentially the same beast or need further mods?4. Wheres a good resource for info on AVR ISP programming?5. Anyone got a good place to purchase headers, chips and programming related parts from?

1. Use what fits :-)2. Yes, same package, same pinout.3. If you're talking about the ATmegas, just compile and flash the firmware for the 328 and enjoy the additional featues. No hardware mods are required. You can distinguish the types by the chip's signature (using an ISP programmer) if the markings are sanded off.4. Look at http://www.atmel.com/ for datasheets and application notes (AVR910).5. Please set your country in your profile.

I've laid out a SMD board with the intention of soldering it directly onto the back of an LCD with a pin header. I figure the board layout might be useful to someone else, so the Gerbers are attached and the board is shared at OSHPark (http://oshpark.com/shared_projects/ir4NKmKE).

I'm currently waiting on the 0603 0.1% resistors to arrive with my next digikey order. I've tested with 5% resistors and everything works okay (of course not as accurately as it would otherwise be). Shown below is a breadboard test, in the final configuration I intend to back to back the board with the display (ie top side facing out) and solder them together with a pin header. Plugging both into a breadboard lets me get at the through hole components if I need to.

Changes:

I've used an ISL21070-25 to supply the 2.5V reference because it's what I had to hand

I've bumped the LCD backlight resistor to 2k2. 8mA is a bit of overkill and the SOT23 PNP transistor was getting a touch warm for my liking. 1mA gave me more than acceptable brightness.

A quick word of caution, this is my RevC board, I renumbered my schematic to match Karl-Heinz Kübbeler's annotation and took the opportunity to make a few very minor position & routing changes. Everything passes ERC/DRC so there should be no issues with this revised layout but I've not built it up to check. PM me if you instead want gerbers for the RevB which I know works. Murphy got me with RevA and I swapped one of the transistor's pins

No, but I did see those as well. The one I saw showed them testing caps in the pictures, and also had a mp3-style oscilloscope connected to it in one of the pictures showing a wave form. But it did not have any BNCs. The LCD showed the frequency and voltage of the waveform it was outputting.

I was thinking something along the lines of this. I like the ZIF socket idea as you can just drop a component in or short test wires.I would case mount it or put on a separate PCB to reduce opening and closing stresses. You can also change it later with no hassle.9v battery compartment with door and external socket.

I was thinking something along the lines of this. I like the ZIF socket idea as you can just drop a component in or short test wires.I would case mount it or put on a separate PCB to reduce opening and closing stresses. You can also change it later with no hassle.9v battery compartment with door and external socket.

Another nice idea! Someone has built a version with all hardware options (2.5V reference, relay and boost converter) and put the ZIF socket and contact pads on a small doughter board.

I like the design with the banana connectors (2mm?) and the ZIF adapter! But, as always, there's no documentation. Has anyone, who bought one of tester clones, ever received a manual or a link to the project webpage?

Just found my first bad cap with my ESR meter. A compact fluorescent lamp failed and I could hear a cap complaining. After butchering the case got 3045nF with ESR of 4.8 Ohms on the 3uF 400v electrolytic (Aishi). A 5% 1 Ohm load resistor was also reading 1.2 Ohms.

It seems to already have an ATmega328, 0.1% resistors, 8MHz crystal and software version 1.07(k).What's unusual is the built-in 9v battery and a DC power jack for 7.5-12v. I'm not sure what this means: "Fuse, from low to high: F7DCF9".

The overview seems translated with Google Translate from this chinese page. The pictures are standard pictures that also appear on other ebay auctions and seem obsolete compared to the stated capabilities of the tester. There's also a manual for a digital controller (REX-C100) that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the tester.

At the moment it would be difficult for me to just build a tester by myself - for various reasons. So I need to buy one, but I'm torn between this one and the one that Tony bought. The latter also has ATmega328/8MHz crystal/software 1.07, but no 0.1% resistors and no built-in battery. I'm not sure if the 0.1% resistors make much difference, and I'm worried that the built-in battery/DC power jack might add some unnecessary circuitry that might increase electrical noise. What do you think?

It seems to already have an ATmega328, 0.1% resistors, 8MHz crystal and software version 1.07(k).What's unusual is the built-in 9v battery and a DC power jack for 7.5-12v. I'm not sure what this means: "Fuse, from low to high: F7DCF9".

The current k-version is 1.08k (1.09 is under development) and "F7DCF9" describes the fuse settings, which seem to be slighly off. The recommended fuse settings for a 328 with 8MHz crystal are hfuse 0xd9, efuse 0xfc and lfuse 0xf7. Someone mentioned that the boxed tester clone lacks an ISP header.

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At the moment it would be difficult for me to just build a tester by myself - for various reasons. So I need to buy one, but I'm torn between this one and the one that Tony bought. The latter also has ATmega328/8MHz crystal/software 1.07, but no 0.1% resistors and no built-in battery. I'm not sure if the 0.1% resistors make much difference, and I'm worried that the built-in battery/DC power jack might add some unnecessary circuitry that might increase electrical noise. What do you think?

I'd buy the boxed one. It's got a nice box with nice banana connectors (2mm?) and the 0.1% resistors. The bare one lacks an ISP header, maybe the boxed one too. 1% resistors work also fine if they are matched and you've built a custom firmware with the resistor values updated in config.h. Additional power circuitry isn't a problem, there's a version powered by coin cells via a boost converter.